PCIA – Wireless Infrastructure Assoc.

The House, over protests from the White House and some congressional Democrats, last week approved legislation to make electronic signatures legal. The measure, which passed by a 356-66 margin, comes as more and more commerce moves to the Internet, which …

WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association continued its fight to have the spectrum cap removed. In a petition for reconsideration filed last week at the Federal Communications Commission, CTIA said it was patently inappropriate for government to keep the cap in …

WASHINGTON-The private wireless and medical communities will have to wait until next year to find out if the Federal Communications Commission houses wireless medical telemetry service at 1.4 GHz. The FCC probably won’t decide where to house medical telemetry service …

WASHINGTON-When it comes to spending money to open doors and change hearts and minds in official Washington, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association is King of the Hill. As a wireless trade association, CTIA is without peer-a lobbying juggernaut. Money appears …

WASHINGTON-In a marked change from the private wireless industry’s anti-auction stance, the Industrial Telecommunications Association this week expects to work out details of a proposal that would allow for-profit entities to become band managers of spectrum won at auction. The …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week largely affirmed auction-driven 800 MHz specialized mobile radio licensing rules, but made several modifications that drew applause from industry. “Our primary issue was reducing channel blocks, and that’s good for small business,” said Jill …

WASHINGTON-The merger train rolled through the Federal Communications Commission last week as the FCC reacted to a number of telecommunications industry-changing mergers. The FCC does not officially review mergers but has to review the transfer of licenses, considered to be …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission reached a tentative agreement with state regulators on what type of notification will be heard when a person calls a calling-party-pays wireless subscriber, said Kris Monteith, chief of the policy division of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications …

Lucent Technologies Inc. will be noticeably absent when the Personal Communications Industry Association kicks off its 2000 showcase next September in Chicago. The infrastructure vendor has told PCIA it plans to stop exhibiting at its future shows in North America, …

The wireless industry has yet another trade show under its belt. It’s time to sit back and take a deep breath before all hell breaks loose in preparation for the next one. Every year, after every major trade show, the …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission “does not know if all required fees are being paid,” according to a study released last week by the General Accounting Office at the direction of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. “It is troubling and …

WASHINGTON-Six House members last week sent a letter to Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging consideration of a bill recently passed by the House that would change the digital wiretap grandfather date from Jan. …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week reaffirmed resale rules for most commercial wireless carriers, but carved out exemptions for rank-and-file dispatch operators and start-up mobile phone firms not owned by incumbent wireless carriers. The ruling was generally well-received, but got …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week gave four states interim authority to implement number conservation measures, including number pooling. The states-California, Florida, Massachusetts and New York-had argued it was necessary to implement number relief measures now rather than wait for …

WASHINGTON-After last year’s PCS show was largely disrupted by Hurricane Georges, Jay Kitchen, president of the Personal Communications Industry Association, said he’s been assured this year’s show will not be a repeat performance. The list of speakers at Personal Communications …

WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association last week urged regulators to question certain aspects of an agreement by giant wireline telcos on how to reduce the amount long-distance companies pay local exchange carriers to connect their customers’ calls. The agreement by …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week largely kept in place rules that restrict how much spectrum a carrier can control in any geographic area to no more than 45 megahertz. The FCC relaxed the cap to 55 megahertz in rural …

WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association last week attempted to neutralize legislation to curb antenna siting by telling Congress that consolidation in the tower business will reduce the number of wireless facilities in communities across the country in the future. John …

WASHINGTON-With lawmakers back at work, the wireless industry will shift gears to push for passage of pending bills and try to position other legislation for congressional approval in 2000. Before the House and Senate recessed in August, the industry was …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is expected this week to consider rules for the deployment of enhanced 911 automatic location identification technologies. The rules will come at an FCC Open Meeting on Wednesday, when the commissioners also will vote on whether …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission ruled analog specialized mobile radio operators must comply with the digital wiretap act, even though there are no technical guides for them to follow. Currently, when law enforcement wants to tap an analog interconnected SMR, officers …

WASHINGTON-SBC Communications Inc. and Ameritech Corp. agreed to include wireless issues in their proposed conditions for license transfer, said the Personal Communications Industry Association. “In a nutshell, we are pleased that the scope has been expanded,” said Angela Giancarlo, PCIA …

WASHINGTON-A recent agreement by giant wireline telcos about how to reduce the charges long-distance companies pay to local exchange carriers to connect their customers’ calls may end up costing the wireless industry, said the Personal Communications Industry Association. “Wireless is …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission is expected this week to announce it will consider lifting the spectrum cap-the restriction that a telecom carrier can control no more than 45 megahertz in a geographic area-at its Sept. 15 meeting. A staff proposal …

WASHINGTON-In what a spokeswoman for the Personal Communications Industry Association termed a “comedy of errors,” the wireless industry and the Federal Communications Commission last week missed an opportunity to tout the wonders of wireless technology in developing countries. FCC Chairman …